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The romance
Poor Stefan -- the object of his affection decides to Seize the Day romantically right when he's wiped out from vampire mind-whammy hijinks. Plus, that exposes Elena to Damon, who is perfectly happy to use the situation to sow seeds of doubt in Elena's mind.

So we were almost expecting this romance to hit the skids in the second ep out ... but we instead ended up with a nearly perfect kiss. Swoon!

Bluff-Calling, Part 1
We love that Jeremy told Vicki that he was the one who found her in the woods. We loved even more him confronting Tyler -- if you're so in love with Vicki, why haven't you been to the hospital? But what we loved most was Jeremy calling Tyler's bluff -- you want to fight? Fine, let's do it, right here, right now. And Tyler, or course, backed down.

Bluff-Calling, Part 2
Damon figured he had Stefan over a barrel -- you either have to feed on Vicki so you've got the strength to perform the mind whammy, or I'm going to set her lose saying your a vampire. But Stefan called that bluff -- fine, let her go and tell everyone what I am . "Let them chain me up and let them drive a stake through my heart," he says, "because at least then I'll be free of you." And Damon caves -- he may hate his brother, he may delight in tormenting him, but he can't seem to live without him.

Damon. Again
Seriously. We love him. He's evil and horrible and munching on Caroline when she's just looking for love, but we can't help but adore him.

What we're not so thrilled with
Mr. Tanner
We get it -- he's a schmuck. But does he have to be such an unrelievedly awful person all the time? He's just so one-dimensional!

Dear Diary....
Still not our favorite device. Yes, we know it's a big part of the books, but that doesn't mean we think it works well on TV.

Jeremy Acting Out
We know he's in pain. That's no reason to take it out on poor Jenna. And we know he's smitten with Vicki and doesn't want to hide it -- but that's no reason to brag about how they got it on over the summer. Sigh.

Favorite quotes:

Caroline reacts to Bonnie's news that her grandmother said the comet was a harbinger of doom: "Yeah, and then you poured Gram another shot , and then she told you about the aliens."

Carline pumps Elena for information on Stefan: "Elena, we are your friends-- you are supposed to share the smut!"

Elena meets Damon: "He didn't tell me he had a brother."
Damon: "Well, Stefan's not one to brag."

Damon evaluates Stefan's mind-whammy skills: "Not bad. Have you been eating bunnies?"

Caroline sees Damon: "I was hoping I'd see you again."
Damon: "I know."
Caroline: "Cocky much?"
Damon: "Very much."